Allen's joy at £13m move from Anfield to Stoke City

Stoke have confirmed the signing of Wales midfielder Joe Allen from Liverpool.

The 26-year-old has put pen to paper on a five-year contract after the clubs agreed a £13million fee.

Allen has struggled for playing time under Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, having been restricted to mainly Europa League appearances last season.

But he was one of the stars of the Wales squad which reached the semi-finals at Euro 2016 earlier this summer.

Stoke's bid met Liverpool's valuation of a player with less than 12 months remaining on his contract and means they recouped most of the £15million they paid Swansea four years ago.

Allen said: "It's been a whirlwind 48 hours for me, but I am delighted to have finally been able to put pen to paper. I was really excited as soon as I heard of the club's interest and it wasn't a difficult decision for me to make. I am incredibly excited about my future here at Stoke City."

Allen flew out to link up with his new team-mates in Orlando today after becoming manager Mark Hughes' second summer signing, a few hours after Egypt winger Ramadan Sobhi arrived from Al Ahly.

In other news, West Ham defender Aaron Cresswell will miss the start of the season after being ruled out for up to four months with a knee injury. The 26-year-old left-back, one of the Hammers' most consistent performers last term, suffered ligament damage in their pre-season friendly win over Karlsruher in Austria on Saturday.